Explore Ushuaia in a Day: Maximize Your 24-Hour Adventure in Argentina 🇦🇷

Ushuaia is quite tourist-friendly as a travel destination, and with good time management, you can cover the lighthouse and Tierra del Fuego in one day. Here’s my itinerary for reference:
Day 1: Arrive at the hotel by plane around noon, and spend the afternoon exploring the city:
1️⃣ Walk along the main street: Visit the Parroquia Nuestra Señora church, and go to the post office (closes at 16:30) to buy commemorative stamps of Argentina’s championship.

2️⃣ Take the sightseeing bus, which is a very noticeable double-decker blue bus located by the seaside in the main area. It costs $10, and departs every two hours. I took the 15:30 one, which introduces the main historical buildings of the city, with bilingual commentary in Spanish and English. You can also pay extra for a Chinese audio guide.

The bus returns to the original location at 16:50.
3️⃣ Return to the seaside in the main area, see the old ship ruins, take photos at the Ushuaia sign at Cartel Ushuaia, and watch the sunset at the Primera Iglesia católica church (if you don’t want to walk, you can rent a mountain bike on the main street).

4️⃣ Book the next day’s itinerary. Travel agencies are all near the pier, just a stone’s throw from the main street, and they close at 8 PM, so there’s enough time to first enjoy the scenery and then book your activities. You can first inquire about information at the Centro de Información Turística (Tourist Information Center), and then book subsequent itineraries.

The staff here speak excellent English.
5️⃣ At 19:00, go to eat the king crab at Old Captain. This place is extremely popular; it opens at 19:00, and by 19:20, there are no seats left. It’s recommended to queue up 10 minutes in advance.
Day 2: Scheduled for the morning to visit the lighthouse and an afternoon hike in Tierra del Fuego National Park
10:00-13:00, Lighthouse + sea lions + cormorants three-island tour, 40GBP.

I chose Tolkeyen Patagonia, which operates a large boat that can sail even in windy weather. The weather was not great on this day, and tours by smaller boats were canceled, but the prices for both large and small boats are the same. Even if the weather had been good, I would have chosen this company.

14:00-18:00, Hike in Tierra del Fuego National Park. I bought the tickets the night before at the Bus Terminal of Ushuaia. The round-trip ticket to the park costs 20GBP. During peak season, you can choose to return at 19:00, but in early April, the latest return time is 17:00. I arrived at the ticket booth at 14:40, and the driver kindly helped me skip the ticket fee 😂😂.

I felt really embarrassed and gave a 4000 tip (the ticket price is 12000, only accepting pesos).
🍀 For a half-day hiking route, it’s recommended to take a bus to the end of the park, Puerto Arias, and then walk back for two hours to ALAKUSH. This section has the most beautiful scenery, and both the visitor center and the ticket booth staff recommend this route.

Maybe it was due to my rusty Spanish, but the ticket seller went out of their way to double-check the round-trip times and boarding locations with me, showing an almost comical level of concern 🤣.

In the evening, I hopped on the bus at 17:10 and arrived in the city by 17:50. The sky was a canvas of vibrant oranges and pinks as I watched the sunset once more, strolling leisurely along the seaside.

At 19:30, I treated myself to a sumptuous dinner at Bamboo, savoring every bite.

Day 3
I started the day with a refreshing seaside walk at 7:00, followed by a hearty breakfast at 8:00. At 8:30, I made my way to the airport and boarded a flight to Buenos Aires at 10:18, marking the start of another exciting adventure.